Songs with Sound Effects in Them

I was listening to the original US CD release of “Wild Life” (not the bashed ’93 Peter Mew remaster) and had “Oh Woman, Oh Why” cranked up and realized for the first time that there were gunshots towards the end. So it got me thinking…

Wings also used:

A chainsaw (I believe that’s what it was) on “Hi, Hi, Hi.”
A doorbell on “Let ‘Em In”
Bacon (?) frying on “Cook of the House”

McCartney also used:
Actual tug of war grunts on “Tug of War”
A coin rolling (panning across stereo) on “The Pound is Sinking.”

John Lennon used:
A wolf’s cry in “Scared”

George Harrison used:
A racecar in "Faster"

The Beatles used:
Bathtub splashings on “Yellow Submarine”
A plane flying in on “Back in the USSR”

The Beach Boys used:
Chirping birds on “At My Window”
Banana and Louie (Brian’s dogs barking) and a train after “Caroline, No”

Elton John used:
Some kind of steam whistle on “Rock Me When He’s Gone”

Simon and Garfunkel used:
A racecar on “Baby Driver”

Linus of Hollywood used:
Smashed Budweiser bottles on “Thank You For Making Me Feel… Better”

I’m sure there are many others… what other non-instruments were used as sound effects on songs?

JEFF!

 

Jackson Browne - car doors slamming at the end of "The Late Show"

 

Riders on the Storm - The Doors.

The storm sound effects make the song.

 

Snoopy Vs. the Red Baron-Royal Guardsmen...

 

More Beatles:
Yellow Submarine effects throughout
Sgt Pepper- applause effects throughout
Being For the Benefit of Mr. Kite- steam organs
Within You Without You- laughter at the end
Good Morning Good Morning- animal effects/foxhunt at end into
Sgt Pepper's reprise- crowd effect
Magical Mystery Tour- coach effect
I Am the Walrus- Shakespeare play/radio tuning mixed in live at the end
Glass Onion (A3 version)- radio annoucer "It's a goal!"
Across the Universe- bird noises
Piggies- Pigs what else
Blackbird- bird chirps
And of course Revolution 9

Beach Boys:
409- Gary Usher's car (not a 409) racing up and down West 119th St in Hawthorne.
All I Want To Do- Dennis Wilson and a female friend having fun in the fadeout

Shangri- Las: Leader of the Pack - motorcycle crash.

 

D'Oh! Good call. How did I miss that one?...

So a few more car effects I thought of:

Brian Wilson's "Let's Go To Heaven In My Car"
Billy Ocean's "Get Outta My Dreams, Get Into My Car"

JEFF!

 

Wasn't that a skateboard that Jan & Dean used in Sidewalk Surfing?

 

The LP version of "Sure As I'm Sittin' Here" by The Three Dog Night. It features a toilet flushing during the instrumental solo.

 

Herb Alpert and the Tiajuana Brass

Mexican Road Race/race cars. Great happy tune.

 

How about 75% of Pink Floyd songs from DSOTM on.

 

"Punky's Dilemma" on S & G's "Bookends" album. Has some one falling down the stairs and you can hear a groan.

Also from the same album, the song "Fakin' It" you can hear a shop's door ring and a female voice talking. IIRC!!!

 

The Velvet Underground "European Son" - it sounds like King Kong smashing out a window.

 

Ten Years After-Radio-Baby, won't you let me rock and roll you (can't think of title).

 

"Good Morning Mr.Leach, have you had a busy day?"

You do recall correctly

 

"Money" by Pink Floyd and "Green Chri$tma$" by Stan Freberg -- cash register. I once heard Stan Freberg discuss how difficult it was to "play" the authentic old-time cash register in time with the music!

"Sea Cruise" by Frankie Ford -- foghorn

"Dead Man's Curve" by Jan and Dean -- car crash

All of the following have thunder and lightning, some more realistic than others:
"The Thunder Rolls" -- Garth Brooks
"Raindrops" -- Dee Clark
"Rhythm of the Rain" -- The Cascades
"Summer Rain" -- Johnny Rivers (LP version)

"The Rain, The Park, and Other Things" by the Cowsills -- rain

"Bennie and the Jets" by Elton John -- crowd noise and applause
"So You Want to Be a Rock and Roll Star" by the Byrds -- crowd noise (mostly screaming girls) recorded during their tour of the UK in 1966

"Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover" by Sophie B. Hawkins -- train rumbling past
"This Is Where I Came In" by Bee Gees -- train rumbling past

"Movin' Out (Anthony's Song)" by Billy Joel (LP version) -- motorcycle (or car) revs and squeals

"1812 Overture" by Tchaikovsky -- cannon

 

Electric drill - opening of Van Halen's "Poundcake".

 

"Summer In The City"-Lovin' Spoonful: Uses jackhammer and traffic sound effects.

Evan

 

It's a Hiatt song, who within the last couple of albums wrote a song called "Ethelene" that refers to "sittin' on the toilet with my sunglasses on" and name-checks Sloop John B. as I recall.

I won't make any "anal retentive" jokes here, but John seems to have a thing for writing on the throne.

doug

 

NRBQ's "Me And The Boys" had the sound of a hot rod racing away at the end.

Actually, I think it was a chain saw that was supposed to sound like a hot rod...and I hear with the wooden walls at Bearsville studio, the bosses weren't too pleased with them for bringing it in for the session.

Which reminds me, what was that Jackyll song with the lead chain saw solo?

And what seems like an ironic choice now, there's that breaking glass sound that kicked off Billy Joel's Glass Houses LP, just before "You May Be Right."

 

train effects on Boxtops "Choo-Choo Train" and Rufus Thomas' "Memphis Train"

Aereoplane on Boxtops' "the Letter"

Traffic noise on Soul Survivors' "Expressway to Your Heart"

Screwdriver and Coke bottle for Everlys' Message To Mary

Motown often used sychronized/mechanized contraption made from 2-by-4's for handclapping effects.

I, personally, love the sound of breaking glass.

doug

 

"Do You Remember Rock & Roll Radio" by the Ramones: Radio tuning & DJ effects begin and end the song.

Evan

 

One I remember & didn't see mentioned: Davie Allan & The Arrows - Blue's Theme - motorcycle intro

 

Black Sabbath - Sweet Leaf. Must've been a good hit!


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